Celebrating Fresh Starts

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! Please join us!

First quarter ended yesterday. I love that we get opportunities to start fresh a few times each year. We end our nine weeks of hard work with a reading celebration called the Zone Day. 

We bring lots of books to read. We stretch out on desks and pillows. We settle in and read. It's heavenly! We spent some time reading our read aloud book too.  Yesterday I read Karen Harrington's new book, Mayday. It's not released until May, but I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy. 

I gobbled it up in one day! It's full of drama...about a boy named Wayne who is struggling to figure out who he is supposed to be. This is happening as he survives a plane crash and learns to deal with his family and friends. Wayne is such a likable character! Karen Harrington, the author, writes tragedy so well. She communicates the layers of life...everything isn't all good or all bad, and she steers her characters through the messiness of life. I LOVE her books! I celebrate good authors and the chance to read their writing! Look for Mayday this spring! I celebrate trust. By the end of the first quarter, I see the trust that's been developed between me and my students. It's something I work hard at and continue to develop throughout the school year. My students continue inspire me with their willingness to take risks in their writing and to push themselves to become better readers. I celebrate life. It's messy and sad. It's beautiful and miraculous. I learn everyday that life isn't all bad or all good. I learn everyday that people aren't all bad or all good. I remind myself that everyone has a story and is doing the best they can.

Drive

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Traveling changes my perspective. 

I get a chance to slow down and look at things from another angle. My cousin got married this weekend and I drove up to Massachusetts to be there. 

I could have flown, but there's something about that long drive that brings me peace. I know the route like the back of my hand, so I can relax into the drive. 

It's been fifteen years that I've been taking this route home and I feel like I  notice different things each time. This trip brought brilliant autumn leaves. I love the freedom of leaving before the world wakes up and watching the sun rise. 

Rest stops provide a moment to stop and look around.

Flying might save time, but it doesn't bring me peace of mind. I figure things out on the road. Sometimes the music blares and a belt out a few tunes and other times I listen to audiobooks or podcasts. It's time when I must be mindful and pay attention to the road...time when I think about life. 

Arriving at my destination feels like an accomplishment. I left one place and I arrived in another. Seeing the happy faces of my family and getting the hugs...it's why I travel.

No one seems to understand why I drive. I get looks of confusion and furrowed brows. Questions like, "How long does it take you?" and "Wouldn't you rather fly?" greet me each and every trip. The answer is no. I wouldn't rather fly. I get to drive! Is there traffic? Yup. Construction? Sure. Bad drivers? Certainly. Driving is about the time and the quiet and stopping and looking around in a world that's so busy. 

What is Your Sentence?

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Today we took our writing notebooks out to write a sentence. Just a sentence. 

What is your sentence? I stumbled upon this amazing video from Daniel Pink's book, Drive. 

I asked my sixth graders this question. We decided that we'd like to see some examples, so I shared a couple of other videos with mentors of this sentence. 

We analyzed their sentences. We noticed that the sentences were written in the third person. We noticed that the sentences were written as if these things had already happened. We got lost in their words. 

It's time to write our own. We spent five minutes writing and rewriting our sentence. We added details. We rearranged words. We tried out new ideas. We shared. After a few students shared out loud, we split up into groups and revised our sentences. We wrote our final sentence on an index card.  Once again, I'm impressed. My students wrote and revised and shared. They thought deeply about who they are and who they want to be. We talked about our process of writing. "How did it go? How did you write your sentence?" Those conversations make the act of writing less scary (I hope). We noticed that everyone has a different process. I shared my process with them as I worked on my sentences for three blocks today and I'm not done. Here's a peek into my process…

They took risks and shared their hopes, their dreams, they shared themselves in their sentences. Here are a few of the sentences from my brave and talented sixth graders. Enjoy!

What is your sentence?!?!

This is Bella

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Good Morning! This is Bella. I am writing this blog post this morning because my mommy can't figure out what to write. She is struggling, so I decided to help her. I am going to write about our weekend. We had a wonderful weekend, but some weird things were happening!

Saturday was perfect. We took a long walk. I sniffed lots of good smells and enjoyed myself.

When we came home, Mommy and I played with my toys and then we cuddled together for a little while. I settled down to rest and all of the sudden there was all of this commotion. Mommy was taking things off of the shelves. All the things were coming off of the shelves. 

She was surrounded. I couldn't get to her. I paced back and forth while she moved things around. Some of the things on the shelves went into bags and into the garage and other things just went back onto the shelves. Finally, she was done!

Suddenly, it was happening again. This time, she was taking everything out of the closet. 

How big is that closet?!?! Things just kept coming out. 

Finally she moved things around, lots of it went into bags and into the garage and the rest returned to the closet. 

I didn't like this at all! There's too much craziness!!! Why is she doing this? When will it be over? Ahhhh, I thought, we are done.  We walked upstairs to my bedroom. It's my favorite room in the house! My crate is in there and Mommy's bed too! As I was deciding if I should go into my bed or rest on her's, once again clothes started flying around. 

What is happening?!?! I started worrying. Is she leaving?!?! She moves clothes around like this before she leaves me. I couldn't stop pacing...I started panting. I wanted to yell, "MOMMY, STOP!" but I don't talk. I watched her carefully...every moment. It lasted all day. She even started again on Sunday.  Finally, Monday we are done. No bags. No stuff. No chaos. Just rest. Me and my mommy. Together. I guess overall it was a good weekend. 

September Celebrations

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! September 19 will mark our 100th celebration! Please join us!

I love September. September means new beginnings and fresh starts. It reminds me of the new year in January. As teachers, we get this additional opportunity for a new year and I love it! 

I celebrate enthusiastic and sweet sixth graders and their parents. This week school started. We are getting to know each other. We are reading and writing a lot! Thursday was Back to School Night and I met lots of kind and supportive parents. I am blessed to work in such a wonderful school!

I celebrate my OLW of the year, FLY! 

This word has taken me places I didn't expect. I began writing a book this summer. It's about notebooks and how I keep them and how I use them with my students. Hoping this has an audience when I'm done. I'm hoping to get a publisher and get it published, but the act of writing it is amazing and powerful.

I've been sharing notebook pages each day on instagram and twitter with the hashtags #sharingournotebooks & #haseltinenotebooks

Please share notebook pages from you and your students!! I'm honored to have a blog post on Sharing Our Notebooks. Please stop by and check it out and use the hashtag #sharingournotebooks and #haseltinenotebooks

I celebrate unexpected beginnings. Not much more to say here...yet...but look for some new things coming... Off to do some more writing and reading! Enjoy your weekend!!

To You on Your First "First Day" of School (As a Teacher)

I'm sitting here preparing for the first day of school. On my list is to write a note to the teacher I'm mentoring. It's her first "First Day of School" as a teacher. As I think about what to say to her, I reflect on my first "First Day" and I think about what I'd tell my "first year teacher self" on this First Day Eve. Here's some tips on your First "First Day" as a Teacher... 1. You are ready. It may not feel like it. You will check and re-check your plans a million times, but you've prepared for this moment. You got it! 2. Smile. Enjoy yourself! You set the tone in your classroom, so make it a positive and joy-filled place to be.  3. Breathe. There's so much to do and I know you want to do it all perfectly. Those students deserve the best teacher you can be! Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. What doesn't get done today, will get done tomorrow! 4. You are not perfect and that's ok! Be authentic, not perfect. We all make mistakes. You'll make a couple yourself. Be honest with the students. Be yourself. Own it when you mess up.  5. Remember it's their first day too. Whatever tiny detail that got missed...the students won't notice! They are busy with their own stress and worry and excitement for their own first day. 6. Take a First Day of School picture!!! It may sound silly, but you'll want it in later years.  7. Use the rest room before the day begins. 8. Ask for help. Depend on your teammates! We've all been there before and we want to help. 9. Enjoy the butterflies! Those nervous and excited butterflies in your stomach signal so many things...anxiety, anticipation, excitement!!!  10. Take a moment to stop and notice. This day will fly by so quickly...when you get a moment, stop and look around. Look into the faces sitting before you. Jot down the funny things said. Remember this day...it's the beginning of a life long journey! Any other words of wisdom?!?! Please share! Have a wonder-filled first day!

Celebrating Family

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! September 19 will mark our 100th celebration! Please join us!

I'm writing this blog post on my phone because I'm in Massachusetts this weekend celebrating my cousin's wedding. I'm attending an "I Do BBQ" with family and friends. 

Spending the weekend before school begins four hundred miles away was stressing me out, but now that I'm here...it's perfect!

Yesterday I took my sister and niece and nephew for ice cream. We played games and built Legos! 

We played in my notebook when we were out at dinner.

Last night, I got to be the one to read bedtime stories! 

Today, a morning with just me and the kids to some fun places. I love getting to spend time together and spoil them! The BBQ is this afternoon. Lots of family to visit and relax and have fun!

I celebrate my wonderful, loving, beautiful, crazy family today!